For the past 20 years, executive chef Tom McEachern has hung his chef hat in a variety of locales from Philadelphia and Manhattan to D.C. and Atlanta. Today, he's captain at Ray's on the River. And soon, customers will be experiencing his own take on Ray's cuisine.

You've worked at a slew of restaurants. How does Ray's differ?

It's a very financially sound company. That kind of security makes life a lot easier. I don't mean just paying my bills, but paying their bills. They pay all of their bills on time, which gives me more buying power and more leverage. This makes my job a lot easier, so I can focus on guests and food. When I ask for something from a [supplier], I don't hesitate to ask for the best. We pay all of our bills on time, and I can demand that. It's huge in this day and time to be able to do that.

How does your style translate to Ray's?

We're getting ready to go through a change right now, which enables me to put my spin on the menu. We're changing some items and adding a category of small plates, which allows the diner to come in here and spend less than $20 and put together a complete plate of a starch, vegetable and protein. I'm changing around a few appetizers, adding a few sharable sides and then adding on a couple of signature entrees including duck, fresh New England cod and pork tenderloin.

What items will remain on the menu?

There are a few items that will always be on the menu, like the scallops. But the preparation isn't necessarily set in stone. We have a lot of steaks on the menu, and they're very straightforward. We buy prime meat, and it's grilled on our 1,800-degree broiler. Beside salt and pepper and a little TLC, there's not a whole lot we do to our steaks. So our steaks and chops will always be the same. ... We do horseradish grouper and tuna tataki that have been on the menu for a very long time. There are some dishes that are really good, that I'm just not going to mess with. Oysters Rockefeller, for instance. There's no reason for me to change it.

After a night in the kitchen, how do you clear your head?

I usually go home. If my daughter's up, I'll check in with her and see what's going on in her world for that day. I usually just unwind, and sip on a good bottle of wine and grab a piece of cheese. ... I usually go with Humboldt Fog goat cheese, cut a slice of that. And I love drinking red zinfandel because of the spice. There are a lot of different things going on—- clove, cinnamon—- and it has a great nose to it. It's something I'm really going to sip, because it smells as good as it tastes.

Describe the summer scene at Ray's.

We've been very lucky here. Even during the crappy economy, we're only down about 4 1/2 [percent] to 5 percent. I'm amazed at how steady our business has been. We have a lot of hotels in the area, so we get a lot of business travelers during the week. That's when I get to mess around with a lot of different specials. I don't have to be as mainstream. During the week, it's basically expense account and no holds barred. They're going to buy whatever I have, and that's fun. Then the light turns on on Fridays and Saturdays, and we get a special occasion crowd. This business is all about being in tune to the guest. You can be a snob, do what you want to do, and nothing will sell if you don't know the guest. And I know I can get crazy during the week, then put the brakes on and get a little more mainstream on the weekends.

> Ray's on the River, 6700 Powers Ferry Road, Sandy Springs. 770-955-1187, www.raysrestaurants.com.